Microsoft is dead in theory — A few days ago, Paul Graham proclaimed, "Microsoft is dead." He later explained that what he really meant was, "Microsoft doesn't matter." — But whether it's dead or just irrelevant, the company remains an extraordinarily healthy economic organism.

'$100 laptop' to cost $175 — CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The founder of the ambitious "$100 laptop" project, which plans to give inexpensive computers to schoolchildren in developing countries, revealed Thursday that the machine for now costs $175, and it will be able to run Windows in addition to its homegrown, open-source interface.

New Calacanis link-baiting rules — I've developed some deep relationships over the past couple of years blogging and I realize that those relationships manifest themselves in the links I find when I do my 28x a daily ego search over at Technorati. The quickest way to develop a relationship …

Sold on eBay, Shipped by Amazon.com — Your next eBay purchase could arrive at your door in a brown Amazon.com box. — Amazon.com, the online retailer, is expanding a program designed to allow independent sellers to use its network of distribution centers to store and ship their products …

AOL One Step Behind Again: New Home Page Identical To Yahoo — AOL has started beta testing a new home page (the main AOL.com portal). AOL Senior Product Manager (and occasional TechCrunch contributor) Frank Gruber introduced it on his personal blog earlier today, although he is not the product manager for the product.

Barbie® Revolutionizes the Way Girls Play — Groundbreaking Barbie Girls™ Platform Provides Hybrid Play Experience With Fashion, Music and Online Virtual World — NEW YORK—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Today, Mattel unveiled the next generation of fashion doll play with Barbie Girls&trade …

BLOGGING: Expanding no more — It's the web media equivalent of the central cosmological constant: does the universe of personal sites expand ad infinitum, or else collapse under its own weight? And we may finally have an answer. The number of active blogs tracked by Technorati has stalled at about 15 million.

PlayStation Creator Resigns As Chief of Sony Unit — TOKYO — Ken Kutaragi, who created Sony Corp.'s PlayStation videogame business, resigned yesterday, giving up his leadership role at the company at a time when his biggest technological gamble to date — the PlayStation 3 — is lagging behind rivals.